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Nikita [1990]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

French director Luc Besson broke the commercial taboo against female-driven action movies with Nikita, his seminal, seductively slick film about a violent street punk (Anne Parillaud) trained to become a smooth, stylish assassin. Though it amounts, in the end, to little more than disposable pop, the film has a cohesiveness in style and tone--akin to the early James Bond films--that gives it a sense of integrity. Parillaud is compelling both as a wild child and chic-but-lethal pro (trained in good manners by none other than Jeanne Moreau). Tchéky Karyo is also good as the cop mentor who develops feelings for her. --Tom Keogh


Visually exciting and thematically captivating film that blends action with drama.
Review date: 2008-02-20 Rating: 10 out of 10

Nikita (Anne Parillaud) is a teenage delinquent, street punk and heroin abuser, who - as a means of securing another fix - participates in the robbery of a pharmacy owned by the parents of her fellow junkie friend. Unfortunately for them, the robbery goes horribly awry, degenerating into a gunfight with the local police, during which, her cohort is killed. Suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms, she shoots a police officer. Nikita is then arrested, tried, convicted of murder, and imprisoned for life, with parole considered after thirty years. In prison, she is drugged to simulate a death sentence; eventually waking up in an anonymous room, where a well-dressed hard man (Tchéky Karyo) enters and reveals to her that, although officially dead and buried after a suicide by overdose, she is, in actual fact, in the custody of the DGSE, the French intelligence agency. She is given a choice: work as a DGSE assassin or be killed. After some resistance, she chooses the former and proves a talented killer. One of her trainers, Amande (Jeanne Moreau), transforms her from grimy gutter trash into a stylish femme fatale.

La Femme Nikita, or "Nikita" as it is more commonly known (1990), was very much the prototype for director Luc Besson's subsequent film, the similarly stylish hit man-themed thriller Léon (1994); albeit, on a smaller scale and with a slightly more feminist edge. Here, alongside certain visual motifs and preoccupations with movement and rhythm, we can already see the thematic fascination with hit men, mob bosses, hotel room shoot-outs and the juxtaposition between femininity and a degree of required masculinity - as well as an early appearance from Besson regular Jean Reno as a character that very much prefigures the one that he would subsequently go on to portray - all taking shape as the foundation for something much more substantial. Not that La Femme Nikita is simply a mere experiment for that later work; on the contrary, this is possibly Besson's true birth as a filmmaker of real emotional depth, and the first of three flat-out masterpieces that he directed in the 1990's.

Previous Besson films, such as those tied fairly rigidly to the confines of the "cinema du look" movement - a brief cinematic resurgence in 1980's French cinema that saw a younger generation of filmmakers looking back to the days of Godard, Truffaut and the Nouvelle Vague, to create pop-culture referencing films dealing with doomed love and alienated Parisian youth - were high on style but low on plot. Take for example his first feature film, the wordless, black and white science fiction surrealist parable, Le Dernier Combat/The Last Battle (1983), which created an entirely authentic post-apocalyptic future world on an incredibly limited budget, but then fell back on having its lead actors, Jean Reno and former pop star Pierre Jolivet, do nothing for the remaining ninety minutes, other than attempt to outwit each other in a series of physical and mental tests. His second film, the much more colourful and lively Subway (1985) developed the visual ideas established in the first films of Jean Jacques Beineix and Leos Carax - alongside elements of action, comedy and revisionist film noir - though again, often at the substitution of routine plot and easily identifiable characters.

Both of those films are enjoyable, unique and eclectic in their own little way, but really, for me, fail to make an impact when compared to the sheer rush of pure adrenaline presented to us by La Femme Nikita. Nikita is not only a fascinating story about a woman coming to terms with the end of her life and she once knew it, but is also a perfectly rendered drama; dealing with the emotional and psychological implications created by her newly-acquired double life. Besson perfectly juxtaposes the sweet-natured and likeable Nikita and her relationship with the amiable Marco (Jean-Hughes Anglade), with the cold and calculating assassin who thinks nothing of executing her target for the exchange of cold hard cash. It's also an impressive action film; one that drips with the cool French chic of Subway or Le Grand Bleu (1988), creating an interesting and exotic approach to the scenes of violence and gunplay that would echo through to the subsequent Léon, as well as Besson's later science-fiction piece, The Fifth Element (1997).

Another interesting factor is the possible relationship between Nikita and Matilda from Léon, with the potential future scenario for Matilda echoing the present situation of Nikita here. I wouldn't necessarily recommend viewing this as a prequel in any sense of the word; however, it does present an interesting duality between the two films that is further suggested by the character of "the cleaner", here played effortlessly by the aforementioned Jean Reno. Ultimately though, La Femme Nikita is about pure entertainment; taking an interesting story, some fine performances and Besson's unique stylistic flair (especially when it comes to capturing scenes of blistering action) and blending them together to produce a film that delivers on all fronts. Unlike his earlier films, Le Dernier Combat, Subway and Le Grande Bleu, the excessive use of style and occasional stabs of humour are here applied to a rich and rewarding plot and a collection of characters that are interesting, intelligent and, above all else, believable! For me, La Femme Nikita was Besson's first truly great film, and one that still, to this day, could and should be evaluated alongside his other great works, specifically Léon, The Fifth Element and the recent Angel-A (2005).

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Reviews


an unforgettable film that oozes quality
Review date: 2007-12-18 Rating: 10 out of 10

I thought this film was a great film for these reasons:it has the sexiest and most stylish assassin I have seen on film in my life,and it was directed and edited to perfection.You won't see action better than the action you see here in a high-budget James Bond film!I bought the video and loaned it out to some friends who watched it five times in a row!


Yes, but............
Review date: 2007-05-18 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is a great movie, well made, well acted and streets ahead of the American remake with Bridget Fonda, continents ahead of the awful TV series.

A classic French movie by one of the greatest directors. Therefore, it is all the more indefensible that the English dubbed track is dire, dire, dire and so badly recorded, the sound so fuzzy, that it is as incomprehensible as a foreign language. Somewhere in the product overview it says that it is a French film with an "English hearing impaired track". Too right. If you have a little French, you are better off with the French track and English subtitles. If you don't understand any French at all, use the English track with the English subtitles, which, incidentally, are very good translations of the street-French dialogue. Shame. I hope someone does this great movie justice by remastering it with a good English dub and competent sound.

Luc Besson excels in the story of a female assassin
Review date: 2007-05-17 Rating: 10 out of 10

"Nikita" gave rise to both a big budget Hollywood movie starring the ever-fetching Bridget Fonda (Point of No Return) and a television series starring Peta Wilson. The series found a loyal audience (it was a cult favorite) and had a successful run of some ninety-six episodes.

The US movie and the TV series each took a somewhat different tack with the material, though they started from the same place. This says something for the concepts found in Luc Besson's excellent story, but the most exceptional aspect of "Nikita" is Anne Parillaud's gripping and unforgettable performance. Her portrayal of the conflicted nihilistic punk Nikita has served as a model for a host of strong female characters, from Buffy to Sydney Bristow (Alias).

The depth and complexity Parillaud brings to the fragile yet deadly character of Nikita makes this one of the most memorable performances on film. Brilliant Soundtrack too !

The original and still the best
Review date: 2006-06-27 Rating: 10 out of 10

A gritty, violent but also romantic and very sexy film. Luc Besson's work is brilliant and been copied a number of times (Black cat, the assasin, La Femme Nikita TV Series) but this is head shoulders above those. Anne Parillaud is sizzling as the title character while the supporting cast is great, Jean Reno, Tceky Karyo, Jeanne Moreau all give stellar performances. Besson's direction and writing is first class, especially the action scenes while the romantic storylines bring the film to another level. Definately worth the money unlike the many remakes (especially the assassin which is nearly scene for scene)

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Patrick Fontana
Marc Duret
Alain Lathière
Laura Chéron
Anne Parillaud

Creators:
Anne Parillaud (Primary Contributor)
Marc Duret (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
EAN: 5035822367135
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2003-03-31
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 112 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1991-04
Language: French (Original Language)
Language: Italian (Original Language)

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